Changeable sign device



ZMQLME M i, E g... c, SHAW CHANGEABLE SIGN DEVICE 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. LESTER C. SHH w.

Filed June 15,

ATTORNEY.

EMULHE May1fi 1935. L. c. SHAW CHANGEABLE V S IGN DEVI GE Filed June 15,

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

Y C. Smw

[ESTER TTORNEY.

Patented May 14, 1935 V V V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHANGEABLE SIGN Demon Lester 0. 'Shaw, Alameda, Calif. assi gnor of V one-half to Gyril McKee, Oakland, Calif.

' Application June 15, 193.3,; :Seriai no. 675,895 2 Claims. (01; 40-443) The invention relates to changeable display to h pu in a pr min n m n s nansigns, and morepartieularrly to a device for proticlilarly illu ra d in Fi u i f mm fi ar riding sign characters of euch zsigns. incorporated with aeign 1:] on whieh the nrioe of i object of the inventionis toselectively promotor gasoline to he displayed, the "various vide the different sign characters of a series theresign char ters :being et and on a backing plate :5 ofbyahpnopriete assemblies ofeeentain few ele- :12 mounted in a suitable supporting frame we ments which themselves define character por- Oertain thwarting intormetion of the sign may tions. i hemermanently iprimedror inscribed on Another :obiect is to provide any one of .the the backing plate I2; in the present instance igesto seriee of sign charaeters at a given position in ofine:and :gradehne isomer/Aided. m the sign by the use or tower character-forming A removable sign member M has painted on elements than there are icharacters in said series one face thereof the tent eymbol, as ils shown in whereby to minimize the number of elements re- Figure l, Wi l 16717 16 other :iaee (of the member M quired for providing the characters of the. sebearethe halfecen-t eymhoLes is rshowminFigiure 125 ries. 2. As qaerticumrly disclosed, the member M is Afurther objectis to provide for al-s-imple and hexagonal end is provided at onpoeite sides independent mounting of each of the elements thereof with integral tongues H .ioreimultzmeons in a character'forming assembly thereof and at insertion in epaeed slits t8 of the plate A2 for the desired positionin the sign. seenrmg th memher {place beneath the Im- 2o Amore specific object is to provide vfor the opmetal characters t 9 oftheeizgrl. Members 2| and 20 tional definition of any one of the numerals zero 2-2 are mounted :at opposite sides of the member to nine inclusive by the use of eset of as: ifew as M, reatchesaicl member eomprising a plate haivmg fit/610i the zatoreseid eharaoter-forming elements. supplementary information inscribed thereon and Thei-nvention possesses other objects and tee: provided with tongues 23 atits opposite endeior tures iOf advantage, some of which, with the tore: tn-sention in'zslite 24 of the mate 12 for memorably 25 going, will he set ior-th or be apparentin the .folmounting the members .2! and 22 in place. lowing description ofn typiealemhod-imentthere- It will-now she noted that the numeraleign or, and in the accompanying drawings, inwhich, characters :19 may each vary from zero to nine Figure 1 is a face view of as-igneinbodying car as the number to he presented )Vfii'iBS, and must to tain features ofthe present intention. therefore be changeable As shown, twooher- FigureZ is nnenlarged view-of the reverse face aeters 119 are provided on the sign whereby any of an element of the sign, said-element shown as two-digit number may be presented by different detaohedlfirom the'sign. l t combinations of numeral charaeters of two eets FigureBisan enlarged taee 'ViBWOiih-SETiBS of thereof. Fer reasons hereinafter be hlanksltorproviding changeable elements of the brou ht out-orheanparenmtis nreferredtomosign, said blanks shown mutually related in an .vide the various numerals of :eaoh set thereof arrangement iortheir-economical stamping from by suitablyessembling on the backing plate 4'2 sheet material. I charaetererorm-ing elements which may he Ma- Figure .4 isaan enlarged endfragmentary face r-iously associated to provide :all of the ten nn- {L0 v-iewao'f a pontion of :2, backing plate of the ,sign. merals mf e. set thereoi. V m

Fig-nre 5 discloses the numeral zero provided By particular reference to .Figures 3 and 7, :it at the hacking plate portion shown in Figure 4. will he seen that the various numerals zero to Figure Gris aeection atom-16 in Figure .5, nine inclusive .are provided byeltitablyiassemb-ling thicknesses exaggerated. k V two or more elements 3|, 32, ;t3r34 3-5, 35, and-37 Figure 17 discloses numeral-forming elements For defining the :difierent numerals, thenpproof the sign 19.5 assembled tor-defining the numerals priate rcharacter-torming elements aforesaid are zero to nine inclusive tormountingon the backing arranged for a mutual overlapping thereof wheregolate of thelsign. V ,by the :combined elements generally define the Figure .8 discloses opposite face views :of one outlines of the =di tferent characters provided 5.9 numeral-forming element of a :set of such lele therewith, V l

mente tor fuse in torming the mimerals of Fig- It will now he noted that the relementsfil and new. i 32 are .of like rsize and are rueshaped within the The features of the present intention-are paroutline .of a. square whereby the router eideiand tieulanlydesignedvforapphoation dieplay signs baselines thereof hate the same length, said whereby variable in-iiormation may bepnesented lengtheonyenientlydesignated infigntei-by the 55 letter a. The side and base portions of the elements 3| and 32 are of equal widths b whereby these elements may be variously combined for defining the numeral characters zero, two, three, five, six, eight, and nine in the manner indicated in Figure 7. With the elements 3| and 32 shaped as described, it will be seen that the aforesaid characters are rectangular, and that, algebraically expressed, each said character has an outside width of a and a length of 2.ab. In the present instance, though not necessarily, the measurement b is one-third of the measurement a, whereby the width of each said character may be algebraically expressed as 3.?) and the length of the character as 5.17.

The elements 33 and 34 are of like rectangular outline, and essentially have the width b and length 2.a-b; in the specifically disclosed embodiments thereof, these elements have a length of 512. The element 35 has a width of b and length a, the latter equaling 3b in the present instance. Each of the elements 33 and 3'! has a width of b and a length of about four-thirds b; it is noted that the elements 36 and 31' provide decorative terminal portions of certain of the numerals which are defined by means of various assemblies of the five elements 3| to 35 inclusive, the latter elements essentially defining said numerals.

Figure 7 is seen to disclose in detail the specific assemblies of the different elements 3| to 3'! of a set thereof for defining the various numerals zero to nine inclusive, it being noted that the outlines of the element combinations are themselves arranged to define the numerals. For the latter purpose, the exposed faces of the elements are finished uniformly and alike as to color, and the color thereof is arranged to contrast with the color of the backing plate I2; it is generally preferable that the background color of the'backing plate be relatively dark while the character elements are relatively light colored whereby the lines of overlap of the elements with each other and with the backing plate may be inconspicuous.

For further completing the definition of the numeral 3, one face of the element 3| may have areas 4| and 42 thereof finished as is the exposed face of the backing plate l2. The area 4|, it is noted, extends across the free end of the lowermost arm of the element 3| which defines the upper part of the numeral, and for a distance less than the width b of said arm. The area 42 generally defines an isosceles triangle having its base at the base line of the element 3| and its apex in the central line of the element arm on which the area 4| is defined. In this manner, the areas 4| and 42 are arranged to appear as part of the background for the characters, and the definition of the numeral three is enhanced.

It is noted that the assembly for the numeral eight is the same as for the numeral three except that the element 33 is utilized instead of the elements 33 and 31. The element 33 extends across the free ends of the elements 3| and 32 to conceal the area 4| of the former, and is preferably provided on the exposed face thereof with an area 43 having the form and finish of the area 42 of the element 3|; the triangular area 43 is provided at the middle of a side edge of the element 3| with its base lying along said edge whereby the defined numeral 8 is symmetrical with respect to its upright axis.

It will now be noted that the character-defining elements 3| to 31 inclusive are each provided with integral tongues 44 extending therefrom for disposal in slits 45 provided in the backing plate |2 whereby to mount the elements on the plate in any one of the disclosed character-defining assemblies thereof. The tongues 44 of the elements 3| and 32 extend in the central axial lines of the arm portions of these U-shaped elements, while the tongues 44 of the elements 33 to 3'! inclusive extend in the central longitudinal axes of the latter elements.- The various tongues 44 may be finished or colored as the background provided by the plate I 2.

It is noted that certain of the slits 45 which are utilized in effecting assemblies of the elements for providing the various numerals define the boundaries of the rectangular plate area within which all of the numerals but four and seven completely fit. Certain of the slits 45 are defined without and within the aforesaid plate area for receiving tongues 44 of the obliquely placed element 33 as applied in defining the numerals four and seven, and other slits 45 are provided within said plate area for receiving those tongues 44 of the elements which fall within said area as said elements are applied in the number assemblies.

The various tongues 44 preferably extend rigidly from the elements whereby said elements must be flexed or sprung into their mounted places on the backing plate l2. Accordingly, the elements 3| to 37 inclusive are arranged to be formed of a resilient sheet material. As particularly illustrated in Figure 3, the sign members Hi and 2| and 22 and a set of the elements 3| to 3'! are shown in an arrangement for the economical stamping thereof from a sheet of spring steel or other suitable material, it now being noted that the members l4 and 2| and 22 are also arranged to be sprung into their places on the backing plate |2 whereby their securing tongues need not be bent at the bases thereof.

Preferably, and as brought out in Figure 6, the material at the appropriate side of each tongue-receiving slit of the backing plate l2 is raised or offset forwardly from the plate to receive the appropriate tongue, or tongues, therebeneath. In this manner, the attached members and elements may lie fiat after being sprung into their appointed places. By providing the beforementioned dark finish on the plate |2, it will be understood that the slits 45 not covered by character-forming elements will be generally unnoticeable to a person looking at the sign.

As is particularly brought out in Figures 6 and 7, the numeral zero is defined by mutually aligning the side portions of the elements 3| and 32, with the elements reversedly related and mutually overlapped for the distance 17. Since the side portions of the element 3| overlie the side portions of the element 32, the latter element is accordingly provided with slits 46 formed similarly to the slits 45 and receiving tongues 44 of the element 3| thereat whereby the zero assembly of the elements 3| and 32 may be held in its place on the backing plate l2 as a unit.

While I have hereinbefore described the provision and use of a set of character-forming elements for providing a series of numerals, it will be understood that certain principles and devices herein described are applicable to the provision of letters or other characters on a sign. Furthermore, the actual design of the elements and defined characters may vary somewhat, both through altering the shapes and relative dispositions of the elements. Thus, in the present instance, the corners of the elements 3| to 31 inclusive may be left pointed or be cut oif angularly instead of being rounded as is particularly disclosed, it being generally necessary, however, that all the corners of all the elements be shaped alike whereby the elements may best cooperate in their dilferent assemblies.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and method of operation will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I have described the principle of operation, together with the device which Inow consider to Q be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative, and that such changes may be made, when desired, as fall within the scope of the appended claims. 7 Having thus described my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States the following:

1. In a changeable sign, a backing plate pro vided with tongue-receiving slits, means for defining a changeable sign character on said plate and comprising a plurality of elements for mutual and variable overlapping to cooperatively define any one of a series of sign characters, and tongues extending laterally and oppositely from said elements for engagement in appropriate said slits of the plate whereby to secure an assembly of the elements in character-defining relation, said elements formed of resilient sheet material for springing into place between slits receiving the tongues thereof.

2. In a changeable sign, a backing plate provided with tongue-receiving slits, means for defining a changeable sign character on said plate and comprising a plurality of elements for mutual and variable overlapping to cooperatively define any one of a series of sign characters, and tongues extending laterally and oppositely from said elements for engagement in appropriate said slits of the plate whereby to secure an assembly of the elements on the plate in character-defining relation.

V LESTER C. SHAW. 

